How do you sum up an entire year in a few paragraphs? I've been staring at the blinking cursor on my screen for a while now trying to figure that out. Then I realized I don't have to sum it up with words. That's not really possible. Not for me. Even the photos below don't entirely encapsulate a year. What I want to share, though, is a look at the heart of the last twelve months of shooting. What I saw, felt, and witnessed.

2013 was in many ways a defining year for me, a "big" year. So much happened, so much changed, and in some ways a lot of things stayed the same. I'm tempted to break down what happened into personal and professional. My profession, and my person, are so closely tied, though - for better or worse sometimes - that it wouldn't make much sense to do so. And, honestly, I'm not in the habit of writing a lot on here. I figure people come here to look at some photos, not read some English-major-turned-photographer prattle on about who knows what. Probably best that way.

But hey, blame it on turning 30 this year or something, because I'm going to ramble a bit. :)

It was getting a ridiculous, adorable little puppy in the midst of the busiest summer ever. (Don't do that. Except it was totally worth it, so maybe do it.)

It was incorporating more of my favorite medium - film - into my work, realizing that it's so much truer to how I envision the world, and my work, than digital is.

It was more weddings than I've ever photographed before, which was a true blessing in so many ways. Getting to really challenge myself and push myself to work more, and better, than ever before is a blessing. Every single time I think about the fact that people trust me to come to a monumental day in their life, and create something beautiful for them to enjoy for years and show their kids and grandkids, something they can maybe look at on those days when marriage is hard and remember ... that thought is amazing. That's a blessing.

One of my favorite things about the year was the sheer variety and scope of unions I got to witness. Different people, races, orientations, everything. What I loved about that variety was seeing how differently - yet equally deeply - people love the person they're committing their lives to. It's impossible not to be inspired and moved by that. Bearing witness to that is very literally what keeps me going. That's a story that's always worth telling well.

So hey, thanks for listening. If you read all that, I think you're really neat. Let's hang out. Here's about 170 photos from this year that I really love. It would be impossible to show every moment/wedding/shoot from the year, because scrolling through 41,759 photos takes a really long time, trust me. Enjoy, preferable with a cup of coffee and some tunes (I recommend this one).